ASEAN

India and Korea share a Special Strategic Partnership which has made significant progress in recent years and is bound to move to the next higher level, a release said

Emphasises confidence building between India and China through de-escalation

Calling Japan a "key contributor" to India's economic development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said it is a bilateral relationship of "great trust" and the two countries need to develop "ambitious targets" and work towards realising them. "In a world under flux, we must deliberate on the urgent need to enhance the quality of our economic cooperation," the minister said in his virtual address at the 7th India-Japan Indo-Pacific Forum and 10th India-Japan Track 1.5 Dialogue. Jaishankar spoke of the breadth of the bilateral relationship and said the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership serves the cause of "regional peace, international stability and global prosperity". "It is a bilateral relationship of great trust and growing substance. But precisely because we have come so far in the last decade, it is important that we develop ambitious targets and work towards realising them," he said. Japan remains a key contributor to India's economic ...

Donald Trump's presidency may see trade and investment flows diverting away from China as the US tightens investments in strategic sectors but this shift might benefit India and ASEAN countries, Moody's Ratings said on Friday. The November 5 election of Trump as the next US President will likely materially shift its policies from those of the current Joe Biden administration. In a second Trump administration, Moody's expects large fiscal deficits, protectionist trade actions, climate-measure rollbacks, a stricter stance on immigration, and easing regulations. Trump is likely to pursue more aggressive immigration policies, including increased deportations, the construction of additional border barriers, stricter visa regulations, and reduced asylum grants. "Although aimed at reducing unauthorised immigration and prioritising legal immigration based on merit, they could lead to labour shortages in sectors that rely heavily on immigrant labour, such as agriculture, retail, hospitality,

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Australia and Singapore from November 3 to 8 during which he will meet leaders of the two countries and address the 8th Roundtable of ASEAN, an official statement said on Saturday. Jaishankar will co-chair the 15th Foreign Ministers' Framework Dialogue (FMFD) with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Canberra, the statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. "EAM will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural session of the 2nd Raisina Down Under to be held in the Australian Parliament House. EAM is also scheduled to have interactions with Australian leadership, parliamentarians, members of the Indian diaspora, business community, media and think tanks," it said. During the visit, Jaishankar will travel to Brisbane and inaugurate India's fourth consulate in Australia, it added. At the second India-Australia 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue held in Delhi in November last year, both sides had ..

India and ASEAN can work together to create a regional policy framework for green energy transition with increasing usage of small modular nuclear reactors, a senior official of Indian power sector regulator CERC has said. According to Harish Dudani, Member, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region provides a lot of opportunities for mutual cooperation to make low-carbon energy transition less disruptive. "ASEAN countries, including India, are showing increasing interest in Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) as part of their broader strategy to diversify energy sources and meet growing energy demand while reducing carbon emissions," Dudani said at the ongoing Singapore International Energy Week. SMRs can be deployed in smaller, more localised grids, particularly in remote or rural areas where traditional large nuclear reactors are not feasible. This could be a significant advantage for the ASEAN region, where ...

A key ASEAN-India policy dialogue was held in Singapore on Wednesday during which both sides exchanged views on cyber threat, national cyber policies, and the recent developments in the ICT domain at the United Nations. The First ASEAN-India Track 1 Cyber Policy Dialogue explored cooperation in capacity building and training to identify specific areas of activities, the Ministry of External Affairs said. As announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 10 during the 21st ASEAN-India Summit held in Vientiane, Lao PDR, this dialogue was held on Wednesday in Singapore, it said. The dialogue was co-chaired by Amit A Shukla, who is Joint Secretary in the Cyber Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, and Jeffrey Ian Dy, the Undersecretary for Infrastructure Management, Cyber Security, and Upskilling, Department of Information and Communications Technology of the Philippines, the Philippines being India's Country Coordinator for ASEAN-India dialogue relations. "Duri

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Justine Trudeau met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos, almost a year after his Canadian counterpart accused India of involvement in the death of a Canadian Khalistani separatist. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC News) said Trudeau described the meeting as a brief exchange when the two leaders met during the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, Laos held on Thursday. "I emphasised that there is work that we need to do," the CBC News quoted Trudeau as saying. "I won't go into details about what we talked about but what I've said many times is that the safety of Canadians and upholding the rule of law is one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian government and that's what I'll stay focused on, Trudeau told a press conference at Vientiane. The ties between India and Canada were strained last year after Trudeau's allegations in September of a potential involvement of Indian agents in Hard

China has been accused of harassment, intimidation and patrolling exclusive economic zones of Asean nations, leading to rising tensions in the South China Sea

Chinese Premier Li Qiang called for deeper market integration with Southeast Asia on Thursday during annual summit talks where territorial disputes in the South China Sea are likely to be high on the agenda. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations' meeting with Li followed recent violent confrontations at sea between China and ASEAN members Philippines and Vietnam that raised unease over China's increasingly assertive actions in the disputed waters. Li didn't mention the row in his opening speech at the summit talks but said that intensifying trade relations between Beijing and ASEAN a market of 672 million people are beneficial for the bloc. The global economy is still seeing a sluggish recovery, protectionism is rising and geopolitical turbulence has brought instability and uncertainty to our development," Li said. An ultra large-scale market is our greatest foundation for promoting economic prosperity. Strengthening market coordination and synchronization is an ..

PM Modi is scheduled to visit Lao PDR at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Lao PDR to participate in the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit later this year

ASEAN comprises Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam

India's Act East Policy focuses on building ties with Asean countries to promote peace, economic collaboration, and cultural ties while also acting as a counterweight to China's growing influence

India attaches priority to ASEAN and will extend full support to Malaysia's "successful ASEAN chairmanship" in 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.PM Modi was holding a press briefing after his meeting with his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim."India attaches priority to ASEAN centrality. We agree that the review of FTA between India and ASEAN should be completed in a time-bound manner. India will extend full support to Malaysia's successful ASEAN chairmanship in 2025. We are committed to the freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law and peaceful resolution of all disputes," PM Modi said at the briefing.The Prime Minister further recalled the age-old ties between the two nations and said 'PIO Day' in Malaysia was a very successful and popular event last year.He also announced that 100 seats will be specially allocated for Malaysians under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme."India and Malaysia have been ...

Economic discontent towards China has intensified in Southeast Asia as Chinese companies with surplus inventory are selling goods at give-away prices

Top diplomats from Southeast Asia convened Saturday in the Laotian capital with their powerful dialogue partners in the last of the three-day regional talks that have grappled with tensions over territorial claims in the South China Sea, escalating fighting in Myanmar, and regional rivalry. Meetings on Saturday will bring together in the same room allies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations including the United States, China, Russia, Japan, India and Australia to bolster their relationships and discuss key security issues and other regional affairs. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Saturday in Vientiane to meet with the ASEAN foreign ministers. He is also expected to meet on the sidelines with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, as both countries are looking to expand their influence in the region. Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith opened the first meeting of the day with China, Japan and South Korea by saying he hopes the cooperation framework, called ..

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and leaders from South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Laos and others and discussed various aspects of bilateral collaboration, including education and agriculture technology. Jaishankar is in the capital of the Laos People's Democratic Republic to participate in the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He met Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on the sidelines of the meeting. "Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister of India Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met on the sidelines of #ASEAN events Vientiane, July 26, 2024 #RussiaIndia #DruzhbaDosti," the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on X, attaching a picture of the two ministers. Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart from South Korea and had a wide-ranging conversation on Special Strategic Partnership. "A pleasure to meet RoK @FMChoTaeyul today in Vientiane. Wide-ranging

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Brunei and New Zealand and discussed various aspects of bilateral collaboration, including education and agriculture technology. Jaishankar is in the capital of the Laos People's Democratic Republic to participate in the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart from New Zealand, Winston Peters, also the country's deputy prime minister. "Always enjoy meeting DPM & FM @winstonpeters of New Zealand. Discussed education, agriculture technology, Pacific Islands & cricket," Jaishankar said in a post on X. Jaishankar also held a meeting with his counterpart from Brunei, Dato Haji Erywan. The two leaders launched the logo, celebrating 40 years of diplomatic relations between India and Brunei. "Confident that our warm and friendly ties will prosper further," Jaishankar said. He also met Laos' Minister of

Top diplomats from Southeast Asia met Friday morning in Vientiane with China's Foreign Minister for talks that come as friction continues to escalate over Beijing's growing effort to press its sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea. Several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation have disputes with China, which has led to direct confrontations that many worry could lead to broader conflict. One wrong step in the South China Sea will turn a small fire into a terrible firestorm, said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi ahead of the talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all have conflicts with China over its claims of sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea, one of the world's most crucial waterways for shipping. Indonesia has also expressed concern about what it sees as Beijing's encroachment on its exclusive economic zone. The United States and its allies, meanwhile, have bee

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the cornerstone of India's Act East Policy and its Indo-Pacific vision, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday, as he sought to expand political, economic and security cooperation with the bloc. Jaishankar is in the Laotian capital to participate in the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In his remarks at the opening session of the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers Meeting, Jaishankar said that the current political, economic, and security cooperation with ASEAN is India's top priority. "For India, ASEAN is the cornerstone of its Act India Policy and its Indo-Pacific vision that was thereafter built on it," he said. "The current political, economic and security cooperation with ASEAN is of the utmost priority so is the people-to-people linkages, that we are constantly seeking to expand," he said. It is encouraging to note that the India-ASEAN partnership acquires ever more dimensions with